The Athenian Amnesty and Reconstructing the Law

Edwin Carawan

This study offers a new solution to a number of connected historical problems involving the restoration of democracy in ancient Athens

The study provides a case history of major trials, 403-398 BC, including that of Socrates

It draws perspectives from parallels in modern history, illustrating how the Athenian Amnesty is generally regarded as the model embraced in later conflict resolution

The Athenian Amnesty and Reconstructing the Law

Edwin Carawan

Description

This volume explores the amnesty which ended the civil war at Athens in 403 BC. Drawing upon ancient historians and speechwriters, together with the surviving inscriptions, it presents a new interpretation of the Athenian Amnesty in its original setting and in view of the subsequent reconstruction of laws and democratic institutions in Athens.

Beginning with the evidence on the original agreement and the events that shaped it, the volume also discusses the major trials that challenged and reinterpreted key elements of the amnesty agreement, including the trial of Socrates. These studies reveal the Athenian Amnesty as a contractual settlement between the warring parties, a bargain for peace and reconciliation. The oath that came to symbolize the Amnesty was the closing to that contract, a pledge not to go back on the covenants that spelled out remedies and restrictions-not a promise to forgive and forget. The same contractual principle inspired major reforms of the restored democracy, barring litigation on settled claims and ensuring that new legislation did not conflict with the constitution.

While this book deals largely with the ancient agreement, Carawan also draws perspectives from parallels in modern history, such as the post-apartheid settlement in South Africa, illustrating how the Athenian Amnesty is generally regarded as the model for political "forgiveness" or "pardon and oblivion" embraced in later conflict resolution.

The Athenian Amnesty and Reconstructing the Law

Edwin Carawan

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements Abbreviations and Conventions 1. Introduction: Amnesty and Reconstruction2. A Brief History of the Problem3. Comparanda: Treaties and Decrees4. The Evolving Agreement5. Paragraphe and Civil Suits: Isokrates Against Kallimachos6. The Homicide Rule and the Case against Agoratos7. The Special Accountings and the Speech Against Eratosthenes8. Andokides Defense On the Mysteries and the Amnesty Legislation9. The Case against Socrates10. The Case against Nikomachos and Rewriting the Laws11. The Legacy of the Reconciliation12. Conclusions and Defining IssuesBibliography Index

The Athenian Amnesty and Reconstructing the Law

Edwin Carawan

Author Information

Edwin Carawan is Professor of Classics at Missouri State University. His publications include Rhetoric and the Law of Draco (OUP; 1998) and The Attic Orators (OUP; 2007) in the Oxford Readings in Classical Studies series.